A Fairy Tail Wonderland
by StarScheme
Summary: When Princess Heartfilia chases a strange rabbit thief into her Mother's room, she accidentally gets whisked away into the world of a Fairy Tail Wonderland. There, she discovers her mothers secrets and the true reason for her death. With the help of some new friends, Lucy attempts to pick up where her mother left off and aid the Fairy Tail kingdom in reviving their ruler Mavis.
1. The Thieving Rabbit

**Chapter One: The Thieving Rabbit**

The storm rain pounded against the windows of the Heartfilia castle and kept all the inhabitants inside for the day. This was particularly upsetting for the castle's young Princess Lucy, whom was not permitted to leave the grounds. Today was the anniversary of her mothers death and with this ever raging storm, the servants were cautious to allow her outside to visit her grave. Her father, the king, was no where to be found, but at this point Lucy had gotten used to his neglect. She sat next to a large window nook in her bedroom and pulled down the collar of her dress to reveal a golden key necklace that was left to her by her mother. It was the only thing she had of her since all of her belongings had been shut away after her death. The king did his very best to hide away all reminders of his lost Queen and told no one to disturb her preserved bedroom.

"I miss you..." Lucy whispered under her breath as she gazed at the golden key. The melonchaly of this day was quickly interuptted when the key was ripped from her hand and broken from its chain. She barely had time to gasp when she whipped her head around to see the strange white rabbit that held the key in it's mouth.  
"Wh-What?!" She exclaimed as she met the animals eyes for just a moment before it dashed off into the hall. Lucy scrambled to her feet and chased after it desperately in order to retrieve her mother's memento. She didn't have time to question why a rabbit was stealing from her or how it had gotten into the castle without notice, she simply refused to let it get away. The rabbit made a quick turn and burst into her late Mother's bedroom. Though her father had forbidden her from ever stepping foot into that room, she was too distracted to realize where the rabbit was leading her. Lucy swung the door open a little further and looked around the empty room in a silent panic. The rabbit was no where to be seen. For a moment, she thought it had gotten away from her, but with a another quick scan of the room, she noticed a poofy white tail wriggling into a sheet that was draped over a piece of furniture. She lifted her dress a bit in order to sneak over before she silently closed the door so it couldn't escape.

Lucy held her breath as she gently gripped the sheet in order to lift it and trap the creature, but before she had the chance, something emerged and began thrashing around inside the sheet. From the muffled sounds inside the fabric, it sounded as if a cat had appeared and was now fighting the rabbit. Lucy was completely taken aback by all this. Where had the cat come from now? As she pondered this strange occurance, she noticed the golden key had been dropped in the scuffle. The blonde princess rushed over and kneeled down to take it in her hands happily. Her elation over having her mother's keepsake returned was short lived when she heard something rocking slightly behind her. Looking over her shoulder just long enough to see that the previously covered mirror was falling forward and would no doubt crash against herself and the animals. Since the creatures were stuck inside the sheet, they wouldn't see it coming and rabbit thief or not, she was not about to just let innocent creatures get hurt if it could be helped. Lucy quickly huddled over the two quarreling animals and closed her eyes tight in preparation for the glass that was about to shatter against her back. Though instead of hearing broken glass, she started to hear voices coming from the sheet that she was hunched over.

"Come here, you dirty little rat!" a muffled voice cried out.

Lucy panicked and quickly rose to her feet, gripping the key in her hands and staring down at the sheet in wide eyed confusion.

"I'm a rabbit, you dolt!" another voice shouted as the sheet was slowly rising from the ground and slipped off the figure that was now too tall to fit beneath it. A young woman with sun kissed skin and blood red eyes was now standing before the princess. She had white rabbit ears and wore white fuzzy gloves and boots. The woman had a black clothe that covered her ample chest and torso, but seemed to actually have a fluffy white rabbit tail. Lucy was speechless as she watched this unfold. What was going on?!

The rabbit woman just now seemed to realize that she was in human form as she looked herself over. She turned to Lucy and her gaze found the golden key at once.

"Hand it over, little girl," she demanded.

Lucy wasn't sure what was happening, but there was no way she just going to hand this over, "No!" she shouted in defiance, "Mother left me this Aquarious key!"

It was no sooner that Lucy had shouted, that a ball of fire came out of nowhere and shot straight for the rabbit woman. Lucy didn't move, but the woman jumped into the air to avoid it, flipping herself up onto he nearest tree branch.

"Salamander..." the woman growled in annoyance.

A cherry blossom, spiky haired young man ran towards Lucy and the woman with an excited grin on his face. He planted his feet firmly in front of Lucy, holding out his hands to defend her. The princess smiled and felt a blush lace her cheeks as she gazed at the back of the man that had come to help her. He had a strange red mark on his shoulder and wore a scarf, but didn't seem to be wearing a shirt at all. In fact, with a quick once over, she could see that he wasn't even wearing shoes. She could only thank her stars that he happened to be wearing pants. Though they seemed to be a part of a uniform that he just didn't have the rest of. The pants were white, (though covered in dirt stains) with an expensive looking belt and gold strap that appeared it might hold a sword.

"Don't worry Layla! I got this!" he announced confidently.

Lucy's heroic image of him shattered a little when he mistook her for someone else. Still, he called her by her mother's name. Did he know her mother?

"I-I'm not Layla. I'm Lucy, her daughter!" Lucy replied quickly.

"Eh?" the young man exclaimed as he turned to look at her closer now. He seemed a little unsure as he leaned in a little more and sniffed the air around her. Lucy blushed further as he brought his face closer to hers. She was about to push him away until she noticed the Rabbit woman lunging for the boy. She panicked and launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around his waist to push him out of the way.

It didn't take too long for the stranger to register what was happening. As he was being tackled to the ground, he saw the Rabbit and sliced the air with his hand. A large flame left in the wind of his swing and caught the the sun kissed girl. It singed her arm a little as she covered her face from the flames. With a painful gasp, she hopped back into the trees and glared down at them.

"This isn't over, Salamander!" she hissed angrily before rushing off and out of sight.

With everything finally settled down, the young man gripped Lucy's shoulders and helped her to her feet along with him. The Princess was a little disheveled at this point. Her long blonde hair was released from its previous bun and her face was slightly dirty from the tackle, but she was still able to keep her grip on her mother's key.

Standing face to face, Lucy looked at the young man in stunned silence. This day had really been a strange one and she wasn't sure it was real. Maybe the mirror had actually hit her and she was passed out on the floor. Or perhaps she didn't wake up at all this morning and was dreaming all this. No matter the reason, a rabbit that changed it's form, a strange young man who could shoot fire from his hands? What more could she imagine in this dream of hers?

"Natsu!" a voice cried out as a blue cat with white wings quickly rushed past her eyes and hugged the young man, "you almost burned me again!"

"Aw, I'm sorry, Happy. I thought you were in the air." Natsu admitted with a grin.

"..t...talking...flying cat?" Lucy muttered in a daze. This had to have been a dream. It must have been. In fact, she felt dizzy. Perhaps she was about to wake up? Actually, everything was starting to get rather blurry and before she knew it, a darkness covered her vision as her body went limp.

Natsu acted on instinct and held out his arms as the Princess lost consciousness and fell forward into his arms. He gazed down at her curiously before he noticed a small amount of blood slowly trailing from her head.

"She must have been hit when she pushed me out of the way..." Natsu thought aloud before he adjusted his grip on the girl.

"What do we do, Natsu?" Happy asked in panic as he flailed his little paws frantically, "This isn't Layla, and the portal isn't even here anymore."

Natsu looked at the injured girl and his gaze fell on the golden key that was still firmly in her hand. Even through all that, she refused to let it go. She said she was Layla's daughter and she tried to help him. He smiled a little now as he thought about all this. There was no way she was bad.

"We'll take her home." Natsu replied as he began an attempt to lift her onto his back so he could carry her better.

"What?!" Happy asked in shock, "but-but what will Charle say?! We were only supposed to find Layla and ask for her help!"

"Well, the portal is gone anyhow and she has Layla's key. So I'm sure she knows where she is. Besides, she helped me, we can't just leave her here for Trixie to find." said Natsu with a finality as he adjusted her on his back and gently took the key from her hand. He handed it to Happy who tucked it away inside the little white sack between his wings. With that, he began walking down an old dirt road in the direction of home. It seemed that this was a surprise day for them all.

 **A/N: First, this is clearly an AU, (Alternate Universe) of Fairy Tail and it's characters. Primarily, this is a Nalu based romance, but they are not the only couple that will be showcased. Admittedly, I kind of rushed the first chapter a bit, but I hope you will look forward to the next chapter in this Fairy Tail Wonderland. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.**


	2. Their Request, His Promise, Her Resolve

**Chapter Two: Their Request, His Promise, and Her Resolve.**

The dream that plagued Lucy in her sleep was truly a strange one. Talking flying cats, a rabbit that turned into a woman, and a dirty half dressed man had mistaken her for her mother. She opened her eyes just a bit, expecting to be back in her in her bedroom, but the roof that she was staring at was unfamiliar. The Princess quickly sat up, causing the cold washcloth on her head to fall into her lap. She looked around the room in silent shock, unable to recognize anything at all. Everything was white and apart from a few other beds, the room seemed empty. Perhaps what happened wasn't a dream after all. Realizing this, she panicked and frantically searched for her mother's key. The last thing she remembered was talking to that boy...and then...nothing. After all that to get it back, had she lost it for good?

"You shouldn't move so much. You'll get a headache." a young girls voice announced before Lucy saw her stroll into the room. The girl had long blue hair, a white ruffled dress and the same symbol she saw on the boy was on her shoulder as well.

"Where am I?" Lucy asked at once, leaning over on the bed she was placed in.

"The Medical Ward. I'm Wendy," the young girl greeted with a sweet smile. She approached Lucy's bedside and held out the key for her, "This belongs to you, right?"

Lucy took the key in her hands gently and held it close to her chest with a relieved smile, "Oh, thank goodness..." she breathed happily.

Wendy stared at her for a moment or two with an anxious expression as she wrung her hands. Clearly, there was something she wanted to say, but seemed uncertain of herself.

"Umm..." Wendy started nervously.

Lucy turned her gaze to the young girl now, "Yes?"

"...Well...um...-"

"She's awake!" Natsu announced happily as he ran into the room and cutting Wendy off. Lucy was taken aback to see him again, especially now that he seemed to be cleaned up and fully dressed. His white pants were still dirty, but he was now wearing what looked like a military uniformed shirt double breasted and buttoned down. He rushed to Lucy's bed side and sniffed the air around her.  
"You don't smell like Layla anymore." he confirmed with a serious gaze, "so now I know what _you_ smell like, luigi."

"My name is Lucy!" she replied hotly, "Lucy Heartfilia."

"So you _are_ Layla's daughter." Wendy said quietly.

"That means that you can use the key?" Natsu asked as he leaned in close with a wide grin.

"What?" asked Lucy, leaning back as Natsu got closer.

"I tried to use it, but Erza said only a gate keeper could use it." He said evenly, crossing his arms over his chest with a nod of his head.

"I've been _very_ patient," Lucy interrupted, sliding herself from the bed and gripping the key close to her chest, "but I need to know where I am and what any of this has to do with my mother," she insisted, standing there in her now dirt stained, pink ruffled gown.

Natsu stared at her blankly for a moment before he and Wendy exchanged looks.  
"You're in Fairy Tail," Natsu answered simply, "I brought you back here after Trixie knocked you out."

"Trixie?" Lucy repeated.

"That rabbit girl. Her name's Trixie. She's from Tartaros." answered Natsu, with a look of contempt lacing across his face now, "the land that borders ours. She was after the key."

"...my mothers key?" asked Lucy. There was so much that she didn't understand here, but her focus was mainly on her mother. It was probably the only thing that she might be able to make sense of.

Natsu and Wendy exchanged looks once more. Finally, Wendy stepped forward to address Lucy.

"There is someone here who would like to speak with you. Her name is Erza. She can tell you everything you need to know," said Wendy.

"...Okay. Well than...take me to her." Lucy agreed, but kept her guard up. It seemed like they were hiding something from her and she didn't like that feeling.

"I'll take ya to her," Natsu offered cheerfully as he grabbed her hand and began pulling her from the room without waiting for her answer. Lucy could only allow herself to be dragged along. Ever since she woke up, it seemed that a wave was carrying her off and somehow she knew that struggling was pointless. She could kick and scream, she could demand to go home, she could run away if she wanted, but deep down...did she want to go home? Her mother was gone and her father cared for nothing. Lucy always dreamed of running away and living on her own, but something kept her in that castle.

Natsu glanced back at the princess over his shoulder and he gripped her hand a little tighter before stopping in front of a large, double door entrance way.  
"It's gonna be okay. You're among friends here," he said with a smile.

Lucy glanced up at him. His smile was infectious to say the least. Not much made sense at all and the wave that dragged her along was a strong one, but he seemed to set her at ease a little. Perhaps it was the care-free way that he carried himself. She nodded just a little before the doors opened slowly to reveal a rather large throne room.

Banner's hung from the ceiling with that strange symbol that Natsu had on his shoulder. Beautiful fountains lined the carpet path that led to the single throne at the top of a small mound of marble steps. The fountains were all statues of faeries, and the throne that sat empty had crystal wings coming from the back. If she had time, Lucy would have liked to explore this room more. It was all a little mesmerizing, but as she and Natsu approached the throne, something rushed by Lucy in a blur and took Natsu from her. In the blink of an eye, Natsu was pinned to the opposite wall with a sword. He seemed nervous, but not too alarmed, whereas Lucy gasped and tried to approach him.

"I heard what you did." A woman's voice announced from the other side of the room. Lucy turned at once to see a beautiful, scarlet haired woman clad in silver armor with wings.

"E-Erza...I did what you asked!" Natsu tried with a nervous smile.

"I asked you to keep an eye on Trixies cell...and not only did she get out, you allowed her to get through the gate and steal from Layla's daughter..." Erza replied in an accusatory tone, striding over to Natsu and gripping the handle of the sword that held him to the wall by his collar, "isn't that right?"

Natsu averted his eyes from her gaze in a nervous panic, visibly sweating.  
"...m-maybe..." he answered quietly.

"Uh-" Lucy started, interrupting the two and causing Erza to turn her attention away from Natsu, "...you're Erza?"

Erza's stern expression quickly became warm as she approached Lucy and took her hands, leaving Natsu against the wall with no remorse.  
"I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucy Heartfilia. My name is Erza Scarlet. I apologize for the way you have been hurt."

"That wasn't my fault!" Natsu insisted. Erza glared at him at once and with a small 'eep,' Natsu was silent once more.

Erza turned back to Lucy with a sweet smile and guided her by the hand towards the throne. Lucy was a little nervous now. Erza seemed rather intense and she was actually finding herself afraid to say something wrong and end up on the wrong side of a sword.

"Lucy?" Erza asked, noticing the young girls anxious expression.

"Yes?!" Lucy replied quickly.

"No need to fret. Natsu will not cause any more harm." said Erza with a glowing smile. Lucy actually laughed internally at that. Erza seemed blissfully unaware of the real reason she was nervous, but that fact seemed to soften the image of this warrior woman.

"No, um, he didn't cause me any harm. ...he said that you would be able to tell me about my mother? ...Everyone keeps mentioning her...as if..." Lucy's voice trailed off as she stared down at the golden key in her hands. Everyone talked about her mother as if they knew her, but Lucy had no idea who any of these people were and she never heard of Fairy Tail. She was young when her mother passed, but still, to have so much unknown about her...it hurt a little.

"...Lady Layla was a wonderful woman," Erza began gently as she released Lucy's hands and stepped up to the nearest fountain, "but I think that her story will be better told by Aquarius."

"Aquarius? The constellation?" asked Lucy.

Erza nodded and waited as Lucy joined her next to the fountain, "Your mother was a descendant of Gate Keepers, or, Celestial Mages. She was the soul master of the twelve golden gates. Aquarius was her most treasured friend and spirit guardian...and she passed her onto you," Erza pointed to the golden key in Lucy's hands and the princess looked at her in disbelief.

"Wh-what? My mother...was some sort of...mage? No. I would have-"

"Magic does not exist where you come from," Erza continued. "There...a key is just a key and your mother was just a regular woman. Here...that key is an important spirit and your mother was the last in a line of Celestial wizards. There are many worlds and when Layla found yours, she fell in love with your father and decided to stay. She only returned once more...when we were at war. It was then that our ruler, Mavis, was sealed away...and your mother...was murdered by a member of Tartaros." Erza finished solemnly, knowing this was not something that Lucy was prepared to hear.

"...in a war? ...n-no. She was sick! Mother died fro-" Lucy felt ill. She had been told her mother was sick and passed away from a long illness...but when she thought about it, she never saw her mother ill. In fact, she wasn't allowed to see her mother for over a month before she was told that she died. Her hands trembled and she felt her eyes begin to burn as tears formed. Why would her father lie? Why wouldn't he tell her any of this? Why wouldn't her mother have mentioned anything? It was all a little too much at once.

Erza placed her hands against Lucy's shoulders and offered her a sympathetic gaze.  
"I know this is a lot to take in. ...but fate has seen fit to bring you here. ...and I'm afraid...we must ask for your help."

"...my help?" Lucy repeated, barely able to process all this.

"Yes. ...You are Layla's daughter. That means that you should be able to open and control the twelve Celestial gates. Tartaros lost their ruler when Mavis was sealed away, but somehow...they have figured out that the twelve gates can revive him. That is why Trixie was after your key. Your mother scattered the keys long ago to keep Tartaros from reviving Zeref. She even left Aquarius in your world...thinking they couldn't get to it, but clearly...that was not the case..." Erza pointed at the golden key, "...you are the only one that can find the keys and keep the gates safe from Tartaros."

"Stop! Just stop!" Lucy shouted now, her hands trembling as she closed her eyes tight, "Just-I don't believe-" stumbling on her words, Lucy couldn't seem to get a handle on what Erza was telling her. This brand new information...it was all a little hard to believe.

"Lucy..." Natsu began gently. He had since gotten loose from the sword at the expense of his shirt. He pulled an photo from his pocket and held it out for her to see as he placed his hand on her head gently. Lucy looked down at the picture and she covered her mouth with her palm. It was a very old picture of herself and her mother. A picture she had taken with her just a few months before she passed. Lucy took the picture from Natsu slowly and she felt her tears flow down her cheeks now.

"I know this is hard..." Erza began again, "...but your mother's last wish was that the gates were kept out of Tartaros' reach and Mavis was saved. ...I wouldn't ask you...if there were any other choice..." Erza said sincerely with a troubled expression. She didn't want to put this on Lucy so quickly, but they were running out of time. Now that Trixie had tracked down one key, how long would it be before they found the others?

Lucy stared at the picture in silence for a while and Natsu was beside her, waiting patiently for her to let it sink in. Her mother was murdered by Tartaros because they wanted her keys? They took her mother away for something like that? The Princess took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She would have plenty of time to cry later. All of her life she was taken care of by servants, neglected by her father, and clinging to the key that was her last reminder of her loving mother. Now, this world...this Fairy tail that was her mothers home, needed her help? Tartaros took her mother from her and now she had the chance to get revenge, no matter what she believed or how hard it was to process at once, one thing was clear to her now. If this was her mother's last wish...if these keys were precious to her...Lucy would be the one to help her mother's wish come true. She was not about to let Tartaros get their way. In this crazy new world, with all the new information being thrown at her, she was able to keep her sanity by focusing on this one fact; Tartaros could not be allowed to win. She would find the one that killed her mother and get revenge. If she could just focus on that path, all the craziness around her didn't matter at all.

"...I'll help you. Just tell me where to start..." Lucy replied finally, looking up at Erza with a determined gaze.

Erza smiled and placed her hand against Lucy's back, gently leading her from the room so that they could talk a little more privately. Natsu didn't follow them right away. He stared at their backs as the two walked off slowly and he placed his hands at the back of his head. Lucy didn't seem to question why he had that photograph and a part of him was grateful for that. Thinking back, he could remember very clearly how he came to own that picture...

 _Natsu was a young boy, living in the palace as an orphan. Layla had always been a frequent visitor there and even as word of war was getting around, she was always smiling and took the time to visit all the children in the palace._

 _"Natsu!" Layla exclaimed with excitement as she held the photograph in her hands and knelt down to meet the young boys eyes, "Look, look! It's my daughter. I named her Lucy. ...isn't she just lovely?"_

 _Natsu seemed uninterested at first, but as he continued to look at the little girl in the picture, he smiled a little._

 _"I'm going to bring her here to meet all of you. I know she'd just love you all as much as I do." said Layla happily as she handed Natsu the picture, "When I bring her, she may be a little scared, so you have to make sure she smiles a lot, okay?"_

 _Natsu nodded his head and grinned happily, "Yeah! I won't let her be sad."_

 _"I'm counting on you," Layla finished with a giggle. Just then, a loud bang was heard in the distance and the ground beneath their feet began to tremble. Layla held Natsu's shoulders as a knee jerk reaction to keep him steady, but once the rumbling stopped, she stood and looked towards the direction of the bang. Layla suddenly looked serious and it alarmed Natsu a little. She always had a smile on her face, so seeing her like this was a bit troublesome._

 _"Layla?" he started, looking up at the woman._

 _Layla quickly smiled again and looked down at Natsu, "I'm going to go and see what that was," she replied, keeping her voice even and clearly doing her best to remain calm for his sake. Turning and heading for the door, Natsu grabbed her dress and held out the photograph._

 _"Your picture!" he called out so she wouldn't forget it._

 _She stopped and knelt back down to speak with Natsu once more, "Hey...can you keep that safe for me until I get back?" she asked happily, "I wouldn't want to lose it while I'm running around."_

 _Natsu seemed excited to be trusted with it and he nodded his head again. Layla kissed his cheek and stood up again to head for the door._

 _"It's a promise. Keep it safe!" She shouted to him happily just before she left the room._

 _Little Natsu waved to her as she left his sight and once she was gone from the room, he looked at the picture in his hands. Looking at the happy little girl, he smiled again. He was excited to meet her and he couldn't wait to make her smile lots and lots. He had no idea then, that he would never see Layla again, but he kept his promise and kept the photo safe for her ever since._

Natsu closed his eyes and smiled as he thought back on it. When he found out yesterday that Lucy was really Layla's daughter, he had rummaged through his room to find that picture so he could show it to her. He had finally gotten the chance to meet Lucy and now that he had, he intended to keep the other promise that he made to her mother.

"I'll protect Lucy's smile, Layla..." Natsu said to himself softly just before he began to follow after them with a smile of his own. 

**A/N: Well that's the end of Chapter two. I'm sorry it took so long, but a lot is going on over here and I haven't had much time to really sit down and focus. Admittedly, I stuffed a lot in this chapter, but I'm happy with it. Hope that you are too.  
Thanks for reading and I'll be sure to post Chapter three as soon as I can. :)  
**


	3. Just Like You

**Chapter Three: Just Like you**

Lucy and Erza had been talking for a while now and since he was told by Erza to watch the door, Natsu was anxiously waiting outside with his ear pressed up to the door. He wasn't the patient sort and he really worried about what Erza might be telling her. He promised to make Lucy smile, so it started to gnaw at his insides when he thought she might be crying.

"What are you doing?" A half dressed man asked as he stopped in the hall to stare curiously at Natsu.

Salamander flinched and turned to see Gray and Juvia, probably on their way to the training grounds since neither of them were in formal attire. Natsu sighed in frustration and stood back in position. "None of your business," he replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Gray smirked now, "Is Erza already punishing you for your screw up in the cells? Who would have thought that Igneels heir would let a _bunny_ slip by. Maybe the Fire tribe should name a new leader?" He teased.

Natsu practically steamed as he turned to glare at Gray, " _You_ were the one that distracted me!" he insisted.

Gray flinched and leaned in a little to meet Natsu's leer with his own, "Are you saying it was _my_ fault?!" he demanded.

"What did you think I was saying?!" Natsu growled back.

"Gray-sama would never do such a silly thing..." Juvia said finally, "he is always so diligent in his work."

Neither of the men seemed to hear her as they stared one another down. The door burst opened and shocked the two when Erza stood there, looming over the two.  
"What are you two doing?" she asked simply.

Both of them separated at once and stood at attention nervously.

"Nothing!" they answered together.

Lucy came walking up slowly behind Erza and her expression was rather solemn. Natsu moved to greet her, but Gray was a little faster and spoke first.

"You must be Layla's daughter, I heard that you were in the palace." He started as he approached her and took her hand to kiss it gently. Simply following etiquette. "I am Gray Fullbuster, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Lucy was still a little numb on the inside to say the least, but all her years in the palace had sort of placed her on auto-pilot with meet and greets such as these. She smiled a little and nodded, "A pleasure..." she started quietly. Glancing over Gray's shoulder, she noticed the lovely girl behind him. Her sapphire curls sat on her shoulders and her eyes were beautiful. She might have seen the gentle heart of the girl if Juvia wasn't glaring at her in a blind fury. Lucy tried to smile at the girl, but before she was able to interact with her, Natsu shoved Gray away from Lucy with his shoulder and pat her back.

"Ready to see yer room?" He asked with a grin. Gray growled at Natsu, but with Erza there, he dared not start a fight. He simply cleared his throat and looked at Lucy once more.

"I look forward to talking with you another time." He said simply as he turned to Juvia now, "Juvia, you ready to go?"

"Of course!" Juvia replied happily, losing her menacing aura at once and proceeded to hug his arm. Gray looked as though he was trying to push her off as they continued down the hall.

"You will see them again, but for now, you should rest. It's been a hard day for you..." Erza said quietly as her armor vanished and she was now in a more simple set. Still wearing armor over her chest, arms, and legs, but now wearing a skirt.

Lucy nodded. She still was not used to all this magic, but she found it easier to observe, rather than ask Erza to explain it. After all, the two had been talking for hours now and she found out quickly that Erza went into far too much detail when asked a question.

"Natsu will take you to your room...and you can call for me when you are ready." Erza added before she turned to leave as well.

Natsu watched Erza leave before he turned to glance at Lucy's face. Her face was somber and he could see that she had certainly been drained emotionally with all this new information.  
"Come on, you probably want to rest a bit, huh?" He asked, tilting his head a little to try and get her attention.

"...Yeah," she replied simply, her voice void of feeling.

Natsu was troubled now. He didn't like that she was upset and he really didn't know enough about her to offer any words that might help here. She was Layla's daughter, but beyond that, he didn't know anything about her at all. He rubbed the back of his neck a little, staring at the ground while he tried to think of something to say, but instead, he saw the old photograph placed in front of his eyes. He looked up at once to see Lucy holding it out to him with a small smile.

"Thank you. ...for showing me this," she said quietly.

"You're not gonna keep it?" he asked in confusion.

"It's yours isn't it? ...Erza told me that my mother gave it to you."

"But you should keep it. You know, to-" Natsu began before Lucy placed the photo in his hands.

"I am happy...that my mother had friends here. ...and I'm sure I'm not the only one that misses her." she said simply as she looked at him with a stern expression.

Natsu's smile crept on his face once more and he grabbed her hand to suddenly run with her. She gasped as he tugged at her once more and forced her to match his pace as they ran down the hall.

"Wh-why are we running?" She asked in a sort of panic, the dress she wore wasn't exactly ideal for sudden sprints.

"I wanna show you something!" he replied, rushing her through a few doors and through a few more hallways. If she had time to look at the scenery, she might have admired the beauty of the castle, but Natsu was pulling her so quickly that there were times her feet almost didn't touch the ground. When they finally stopped, Lucy placed her hands on her knees and panted for breath.

"Y-you don't...need to rush..." she insisted between breaths.

Natsu shut the doors on the room they had entered and everything went dark at once, but only for a moment. Lucy was startled at first. She looked up when the lights went out, but was quickly in awe as a sky full of stars surrounded them. The ground beneath her feet was covered in a light silver fog that seemed to swirl around the circular room and surrounded a small circle of water in the middle of the room. It was beautiful to say the least and she felt at peace almost at once.

"...What is this place?" Lucy asked finally, reaching up as she stepped further into the room. The bright stars seemed so close that perhaps she could touch them.

"This was where your mother would come to commune with her spirits or meditate. It's a room for Celestial mages. So...it's yours now. Since you are gonna be just like her, right?" he replied happily, watching Lucy as she gazed up at the stars.

His words seemed to hit Lucy hard. After learning what she did, all she thought about was getting revenge. She never considered what else it meant. She was going to become a Celestial mage... _just like her mother._ Her eyes watered as she imagined her mother in this room, training, talking with her spirit friends. Lucy took the golden key from her pocket and held in her hands with a sad smile. She felt very numb after talking with Erza, but now, she felt such a rush of emotions. This was the start of a new path for her. No more lonely days in the palace. No more searching for a connection to her mother. This was it. She would follow in her mother's foot steps and become the gate keeper. _That_ was how she could remain close to her.  
Lucy turned to Natsu, wiping the tears from her eyes as she smiled.  
"...Thank you, Natsu. For bringing me here." her voice shook a little, but she was happy now.

Natsu nodded and pumped his fist in excitement. "I can't wait to see what you can do. But we should probably get you to your room before Erza finds out I took a detour..." he started as he turned to opened the doors.

Lucy nodded and stepped forward to leave, but Natsu seemed frozen as he held the handles to the double doors. "Natsu?" she asked as she approached him, "something wrong?"

"...I...can't open the doors." he admitted nervously.

"What?!" she exclaimed before she grabbed the handles and they both pulled together. Sure enough, the doors didn't budge an inch. "Wh-why wont it open?!" she asked in a panic as they both released the handles now.

Natsu looked a little nervous and avoided Lucy's eyes at once.  
"Uhh...I forgot...that only a Celestial mage can open the doors..." he started, "you know...with spirit energy."

"What?! But-then how did we get in?!" she asked in a brand new panic now. The room was lovely, but she didn't want to stay in here forever.

"The...the doors were already open. They haven't been closed since Layla was in here last..." he admitted, "I...forgot...that no one was supposed to close them..."

Lucy flared up a little, "Are you kidding me?!"

"H-hey! But it's okay! You're spirit mage by blood. So you should be able to open them." he added.

"Except I already tried and they didn't move!" she replied.

"Well...concentrate this time." he suggested, stepping back from the door for her.

Lucy looked at him for a moment, then back at the large door handles. She took a deep breath and gripped them tight in her hands, preparing to pull. Closing her eyes, she tried to steady her breathing and concentrate as best she could. This was something she knew nothing about, but if it was in her blood, perhaps that was enough. If there was an incantation or something, they were simply stuck here. Lucy simply prayed to the stars, the spirits of her mother that she didn't know yet, to Aquarius that was with her now in key form...all she could do was pray that the doors might open. After a few minutes of silence, Natsu saw a faint silver glow start to form around Lucy's body and without warning, the doors gave way and almost tripped Lucy backward. Natsu reached over quickly and supported her back with his hand.

"You did it!" he exclaimed as he looked down at her face.

The princess stared back at him in surprise. She wasn't sure that she could do it, but she did. She was a celestial mage. She was one step closer to becoming like her mother. Lucy smiled wide and got to her feet with Natsu's help.  
"I did! I did it!" she replied with excitement. Her elated expression really set Natsu at ease now. It was so much better than the blank stares from before.

"Pretty soon, you'll be able to open the gates. I can't wait!" he said as he headed out the doors and looked back to make sure she was following after him.

"Neither can I..." she replied as she pulled the key from her pocket once more, "I can't wait to meet you, Aquarius..." she said softly to the key. Her Mother's spirit had been with her all this time. She could imagine what Aquarius was like or what they might talk about, but it comforted her to know that there had been someone with her through everything.

Natsu and Lucy made their way to her bedroom finally and though it was a fairly simple set up, Lucy had no complaints. There was a bed, wardrobe, connecting bathroom, it was all she needed really. Even if she was a princess, it didn't mean she needed fancy things.

"There should be clean clothes in the dresser already, ." Natsu said as he watched her look around the room.

"Do you live in the palace?" Lucy asked as she placed the key down on the vanity table and sat at the edge of her bed.

"Yeah. In the east wing with Happy." he replied, resting his hands on the back of his head, "It's comfortable I guess."

"Happy...is that blue, flying cat, right?"

"Yeah. He's my partner. He's probably taking a nap or something." Natsu answered, actually unsure where Happy had been all this time.

"This place is so different from home..." Lucy said with a sigh, "Magic, flying cats, spirits...it's the kind of stuff I would read about, but never thought I would actually see. It's still a little hard to believe," she admitted, "even after seeing it with my own eyes. I guess this just hasn't really sunk in yet."

"A world without magic doesn't sound like any fun. I think you'll like Fairy Tail a lot better. Especially after you learn how to use the keys. I've never seen Celestial magic, but I heard it's pretty powerful. I'm really excited to get the chance to fight one."

"Fight one? They're used to fight?"

"Yeah! I heard once that when a celestial mage gets really strong, they can summon all twelve at once to fight for them." He replied with an excited grin.

"...but...that's almost like using them for a shield. ...I'd prefer to fight _with_ them, rather than hide behind them." Lucy just couldn't see herself using a friend as some sort of shield to cower behind and somehow, she was sure that her mother would have felt the same way.

"That's the spirit!" Natsu exclaimed, placing a hand on her head, "You should train with me some time. I'll teach ya' to fight!"

"Sound's like fun." replied Lucy sincerely. This place made little sense to her, but that's part of what made it exciting. She could follow in her mother's foot steps and perhaps...really belong here. Instead of being a princess, she might be able to make her own life here. A life that wasn't decided by money and status.

Natsu was glad to see that she didn't seem quite so down anymore. In fact, she seemed pretty happy. That room was a good idea after all, and it served to prove her lineage, not that she really needed to prove anything to him.  
"Okay, I'm getting hungry. I'm gonna go find Happy and grab some food. You rest up so we can get started on training!" he said happily as he headed for the door. Lucy waved goodbye as he left the room and once the door was closed and she was left alone, she let herself fall back against the bed with a deep breath. She was ready to simply relax for a while and let this all finally sink in. Natsu and Erza were right, a little rest was really going to help now. Erza had explained much and most of it was hard to follow, but the one thing that rang clear, was that she didn't have much time to find the other gates and close them to prevent Zeref's return. That was a lot to put on her shoulders, but if this was what her mother wanted, she would finish the job. In any way that she could.  
For now though...she closed her eyes and tried her best to get a little sleep before she started on her mission to find where her mothers keys had all gotten to. No doubt it was going to be a long task to complete and Lucy wanted to do it right.

 **A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading.  
I hope that you will continue to follow Lucy and Natsu in the next chapter when their journey begins and the search for the keys gets it's first lead.  
Since it's sooo late from here, I didn't really proof read this well. I'll take another look at it later and replace it if I have to. Thanks for your patience. :) **


	4. A New Look, a New Start

**Chapter Four: A New Look, a New Start**

Lucy was more tired than she realized, waking up to a new day peeking through the curtains of her window. She sat up quickly in bed and looked around the room. She was still in Fairy Tail. A small wave of relief rushed through her. She was actually relieved to be away from home? She sighed with a smile as she slid her feet to the edge of the bed. As she did so, a furry blue tail slipped out from beneath the covers and the princess flinched before she lifted the blankets quickly. Revealing the winged cat that was sleeping in her bed happily.

"Happy?" Lucy asked aloud in her confusion. She stood up and noticed now, a sleeping Natsu, laid out on an arm chair that sat in the middle of the room. Her confusion was replaced with a violated outrage now. How in the world was this acceptable, and just when had he come into her room while she was sleeping? "NATSU!" She shouted angrily in order to wake him.

The dragon slayer groaned a little, but opened his eyes with a yawn. He saw Lucy looming over him with an angry expression, but he smiled at her. "Morning, Lucy!" he greeted with a grin.

"What are doing in my room?!" she demanded.

"I came to get ya for dinner last night, but you were still sleeping. No matter how much I poked you, you didn't wake up. So I just went to sleep too." he replied simply as he sat up in the chair and began to stretch his arms.

"Why didn't you back to _your_ room and sleep?" she insisted.

Natsu didn't reply as he stood up and Happy flew over to him. The flying cat seemed overly tired as he slumped on Natsu's shoulder with a sigh.  
"Breakfast...?" he mumbled.

"Yeah, let's go and get some food before we train." Natsu insisted as he grabbed Lucy's hand. The princess quickly jerked her hand from his in a huff.

"I need to clean up and change my clothes first!" she replied.

"Okay." Natsu sighed as he sat back in the chair.

"That means you need to get out!" she shouted as she pulled him from the chair and pushed at his back until he was out the door. She slammed it shut now and crossed her arms over her chest in aggravation.

Natsu certainly had a care-free way about him, but this was a little over the top. She took a deep breath and headed for the washroom to get cleaned up and change her clothes. It was the start of a new journey here and she had to prepare herself mentally for that. It didn't take her too long to wash and she was happy to find out that the appliances were not that different from home. Once she was clean, she pulled out the clothes that were brought for her. She hadn't known Erza for long, but something about the new wardrobe seemed to imply that she was the one who picked out the clothes. Her wardrobe seemed to consist of golden armor and frilly dresses, even what looked like a ballet outfit.  
"Uuuh..." Lucy groaned a little as she looked through the clothes. There wasn't anything that looked too comfortable. She closed the wardrobe and as she turned to gather her old dress, she noticed some folded up clothes sitting on the vanity table next to her key.  
When she held out the outfit to examine it, she was pleasantly surprised. Lucy had been forced to wear large gowns most of her life. Extravagant clothing that she always thought was difficult to move around in, but the outfit that was given to her now seemed rather simple.

Finally changed, she looked in the mirror and tied her back in a ponytail with white ribbon she had pulled from her torn up gown. Dressed in a blue halter shirt with long sleeves that only disconnected a bit at the shoulder to leave them bare. It was cross stitched down the chest and tied at the hem with the Fairy Tail patched just above her right breast. A black skirt covered her thighs and luckily didn't seem too short once she looked at herself in the mirror. There was also a leather strap with a key ring, no doubt for the keys that she would be gathering. She suck her Aquarius key to it with care and latched the strap around her hips. Once she pulled the brown, knee high boots on, she opened the door to her room.

Natsu had been waiting outside the door since she pushed him out. He was leaning against the opposite wall when Lucy opened the door and revealed her new attire. He was actually a little taken aback to see her like that. Lady Layla was always wearing a gown and when he met Lucy, she was wearing the same kind of gown, but now she looked like a different person. The clothes hugged her curves a lot more than that poofy dress did and he didn't even realize he was staring until he heard her voice.

"Natsu? Have you been waiting out here?" she asked as she approached him.

"Huh? Oh- yeah." he replied quickly as he pulled his eyes from her chest to look at her face. He cleared his throat a little and rubbed beneath his nose, glancing up at the ceiling a little.  
"Do you like the new clothes?"

Lucy smiled bright and nodded her head, "I do. Training will be a lot easier in something like this."

Natsu glanced back at her and he smiled with her at once. At least she was happy.  
"Well let's get going then! I'm starved."

Lucy let Natsu lead her through the halls and she did her best to try and memorize the way back to her room so she wouldn't need an escort every time. As they walked in silence for a moment, she found herself becoming curious about this man that seemed to be sticking to her like glue.

"Natsu...?" she started quietly.

"Yeah?" he replied, not breaking his stride as happy seemed to be napping on his shoulder.

"So...you live here. ...but what do you do? Are you a soldier...?"

"Uhh...something like that I guess," he started, " I came to live here and train with the others."

"Others?" Lucy repeated.

"Yeah. Heads of each tribe were sent here when the war started. I guess they wanted to make sure we were safe or something. ...So most of us grew up here after that."

Lucy started to connect a few dots in her head. So she wasn't the only one that lost someone during that war.  
"So that means you are the heir to a tribe?" she asked, hoping to avoid the topic of parents.

"Hm, yeah. The fire tribe within the country of Fairy Tail. My tribe was ruled by a Dragon, my dad. Dragon Slayer tribes are kinda rare, but the other tribes were ruled by humans. Like Gray's Ice tribe. They had a ruler named Ur, but since she lost her child, she chose Gray to succeed her and run the village, so he was sent here too."

Lucy felt a little ashamed now. She made such a fuss yesterday about her mother, but it seemed that everyone here had a scar from that war. It must have been hard for them. The shock over talk of dragons aside, she felt completely ignorant here. Her country back home was enjoying a long period of peace, so she had never seen a war in her lifetime. She stopped walking and hung her head a little.  
"...I'm sorry." she said quietly.

Natsu turned around and stared at her curiously before he stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
"Hey, there is nothing to worry about!" he insisted, "you're part of Fairy Tail now, right?"

Lucy looked up at him now and was once again set at ease by his cheerful smile. She laughed a little and nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"We gotta make sure you get your mark before we start training." he added as he showed off the crest on his shoulder, "So after we eat, I'll take ya to see Mira. She'll set it up."

The princess placed her hand on his shoulder to run her fingers over the mark gently. Her mother must have had something like this too, right? Natsu stiffened a little while her fingertips traced his skin. He took a breath and quickly turned to head for the dining room again. It was so abrupt that Lucy almost tripped over. He must have been hungrier than she thought. She scrambled to catch up with him and they continued to exchange pleasantries along the way.

The dining room was already full and once Lucy arrived, everyone at the table stopped chatting and turned their heads to look at her. It was a rather long table and the head of the tables chair was empty. Erza was eating a piece of cake, Gray was already done with his food it seemed and was lounging in his chair without a shirt on, and Wendy was sitting with a white cat beside her. They were the only two that she actually recognized. Only a few more people were at the table that Lucy didn't know, but before she could speak, Natsu placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her from behind towards the table.

"Lucy's awake!" he announced cheerfully.

"How did you sleep?" Erza asked as Natsu and Lucy sat at the table.

Natsu wasted no time in grabbing food and filling his plate, but Lucy hesitated as she glanced at Erza.

"Just fine. I slept through the night at least." Lucy replied.

"I hear that Natsu slept in your bedroom." the white, female cat began as she wiped her mouth gently with a napkin.

Natsu didn't react at all, but Erza and Gray visibly flinched. Wendy panicked a little and turned to her cat, desperately trying to hush her. Lucy shook her head frantically, an embarrassed blush lacing her cheeks as she did so.

"It-It's not what you think! I didn't even know that he was there!" she stammered a little, not realizing exactly what she was saying.

Gray and Erza had stood from their seats already and glared daggers at Natsu, who only now seemed to notice the change in mood. He looked at the two curiously for a moment before Erza startled him by stabbing his plate with her sword and leaning over him from the table now.

"Er-Erza?!" Natsu asked in a panic as he leaned back in his chair with wide eyes.

"Nothing happened! REALLY!" Lucy shouted as she rose from her seat in an attempt to calm Erza.

"Is that so...?" Erza began as she removed her sword and letting it vanish in her hands before she stepped from the table and smiled at Lucy now, "That is a relief. Natsu is a little rash in his actions. All these years in the palace and he has learned nothing." she finished with a sigh.

Natsu didn't take his eyes from Erza as he slowly reached over and grabbed a turkey leg to nibble on. He was scared of her, but he was also very hungry. After that small misunderstanding, the rest of the meal was rather pleasant. Lucy observed them all happily as she watched them argue and laugh together. Since her mother died, she would eat alone in the palace, so this...this was comforting. She learned a little more about Gray, who seemed very proud to show off his magic. He was making ice swans and even went so far as to make a large ice sculpture for the table.

Lucy was in awe by his magical display and her elated expression only spurred Gray forward to show her something bigger. With each larger creation, the room was quickly becoming cold and not only that, but Natsu seemed a little put off as he watched Gray show off. He huffed a bit and stood from his seat, standing up on the table now.

"Watch this Lucy!" he shouted as he took a long, deep breath and blew fire out of his mouth like a torch as it melted all of Gray's creations. Lucy was impressed, but also a little concerned when the melted ice made quite the watery mess on the floor.

"Hey! Flame head! What was that for?!" Gray demanded angrily.

"I just thought that Lucy was getting cold." Natsu replied smugly, "besides, fire magic is more fun to watch."

"If it is a display you wish to see..." Erza started proudly, her armor changing in a bright glow to a silver iron gown, rising her into the air with wings made of steel swords, "than enjoy the beauty of my heavenly swords!" she announced as her swords danced around the room, flying through the air and cutting through the table easily. Lucy gasped and quickly left her chair and ducked for cover. The others seemed to have the same idea and once Erza was satisfied by her clearly superior display of magic, she reequipped back to normal.

Since breakfast had been so eventful, Lucy almost felt like it was time for bed once again, but instead, Erza asked to speak with her while Natsu and Gray cleaned up the dining room. Once the girls were alone in another room, Erza pulled out a map from her chest plate and displayed it for Lucy.

"I think we have a lead on where a key might be," she started, "there are reports of the Lunar village having some trouble with a beast. It's been described as a giant bull. Our Master thinks this may be Taurus. Natsu has volunteered to go with you to the village and investigate."

Lucy was a little alarmed by this. She knew that she would have to gather the keys, but she thought there would be more time to practice before she actually went out to get one. She had no idea how to fight, or what to do when she encountered one.  
"B-but what do I do when I find it? I mean...will it know me? Or...um..."

Erza looked at her with sympathetic eyes, "I wish we could offer you more council on this, but your mother was the only Spirit Mage...and it is not something that I understand. That is why we are counting on you to know what to do."

Lucy felt panic flow through her and there was an immense pressure on her shoulders now. She really didn't seem to grasp how difficult this might be yesterday when they spoke, but if her mother did this once, she would do her best.

"Okay," she replied, "when do we leave?" she asked.

Erza smiled at her response and rolled the map back up before she handed it to Lucy, "As soon as possible. There will be travel money for you two, but use it sparingly. Also, this is an emergency Lacrima. Please use it if you are in trouble." Erza said as she handed Lucy a crystal rock. The princess wasn't sure how to use such a thing, but she nodded anyhow, hoping that Natsu could teach her.

"I'm ready." Lucy replied with a smile. With that, Erza escorted Natsu and Lucy to the gates of the palace. Gray seemed a little put off that Natsu was the one that got to go, but he didn't put up much of a fight about it. Lucy was only now able to see the outside and she was amazed that the scenery was much like her home. The blue sky, the green foliage, it all looked the same. That put her at ease a little more. At the very least, she would not seem to out of place. Natsu and Lucy were both given large backpacks with camping gear and Natsu was told to change his uniform. For all intents and purposes, they looked like a couple traveling the country side, which was just what Erza wanted. She even told Happy to keep a low profile. He was not allowed to fly unless it was necessary. Lucy was not sure why such rules were in place, but she was excited to get started. After never being allowed to leave her own Palace grounds, this was going to a great experience.

Erza waved them off as they headed out, and Gray glanced at her once they were out of sight.

"Do you really think it's okay to send Natsu on a _low profile_ mission like this? If we really want to keep Lucy a secret from Tartaros...I should have gone with her." Gray said simply now as he and Erza began to head back into the palace.

"...and if you went, Juvia would throw a fit and follow you. Besides, Natsu insisted that he be the one to accompany her and I need to get back to the border to help the others..." Erza replied.

Gray's expression turned grim and he nodded his head, "how long do you think we can hold the demons back? ...the last report seemed bleak. Even with the old man there..."

"That is why I am returning. ...and you need to stay here with Wendy and Juvia." Erza insisted, "we can't allow the citizens...or even Natsu to know what is happening right now. ...We can just hope that Lucy Heartfilia will be able to gather the keys...and end this."

Gray nodded once more and sighed, "Good luck," he said finally.

"See you soon." Erza replied before she turned to head for the stables in order to take her leave.

The ice mage looked out a nearby window and stared in the direction that Natsu and Lucy had gone, "Don't do anything stupid, Natsu..." he muttered to himself before turning from the window and heading for the training room. He had no choice but trust Natsu for the moment. They may not always get along, but he had to admit that he was a good choice to keep Lucy at least until they could revive Mavis.

 **A/N: I hope that you all have enjoyed the light and happy chapters so far, because I'm afraid you need to prepare yourselves for the ANGST! I know, I'm sorry, but it's about to get a little heavy. Please don't hate me later! .;;**


	5. A Mouse, a Mermaid, and a Pool of Tears

**Chapter Five: The Mouse, The Mermaid, and the Pool of Tears**

Traveling with Natsu was going better than Lucy expected. He was very care-free, but he also seemed to genuinely care if she were comfortable or if she was worried about something. After traveling for the better part of the day, Lucy was visibly tired, dragging her feet a little.

"Wanna make camp?" Natsu asked as he stopped on the trail to look back at the fatigued princess.

"Sorry..." Lucy started as she dropped her backpack and took a deep breath, "I'm not exactly used to hiking."

"Neither am I..." Happy announced as he plopped himself down on the ground in exhaustion, "I don't like not flying..." he groaned.

Natsu looked up at the sky and he sighed, "Okay, well let's get off the main road. We'll set up camp in the woods." he said as he picked up Lucy's backpack and started into the trees. Lucy scooped Happy into her arms and the cat nuzzled himself against her. He really didn't like to walk, but since Erza had told him not to fly, he was determined to do a good job. Lucy smiled at the resting animal in her arms and she rushed to catch up with Natsu now.

"Isn't that heavy?" she asked once she was walking beside him.

"Nah. We aren't going far anyway. Just enough to sleep in the cover of the trees." he replied.

"...this will be my very fist time sleeping outside." Lucy admitted shyly, "father never let me out much after mother died...and even before that, he really didn't like me doing anything where I might get dirty."

"My dad and I would always sleep outside." Natsu said happily, "so I'll teach ya how to camp." he finished with a laugh.

Lucy laughed along with him and once they reached a decent spot, Natsu set the bags down. Lucy set up Happy's little sleeping bag and gently tucked him in so that he could rest comfortably.  
It was still a little too early to go to sleep, so Natsu made a quick fire and tried to teach Lucy how to build a small fire pit. Everything seemed easy enough to her until he blew a fire of his own onto the wood.

"Well I doubt I'll be able to do that." she remarked with a smile, hugging her knees to herself to settle by the warm flames.

"Maybe one of your spirits will be able to make fire." he suggested as he pulled the sleeping bags and blankets from the backpacks to set up their beds.

Lucy smiled a little brighter, trying to imagine what the spirits might look like or what they would talk about. For so long she had been alone...but she was quickly gaining so many friends. It would be wonderful if the spirits became her friends too. She reached up and pulled the ribbon from her hair, letting her blonde strands fall along her back. It was rare for her to feel so comfortable, but with Natsu, she felt safe.

Natsu glanced at her and smiled, happy to see that she was relaxing a bit more. He worried a little that his intrusion on her room might have soured her with him, but luckily that didn't seem to be the case. He wasn't going to admit that he was there to give her the clothes that he and Happy had gotten for her with Mirajane's help. Though he really didn't expect the clothes to hug her body as they did and he couldn't help but feel as though Mira did that on purpose. He shook the thoughts from his mind as he laid out her bed.

"There you go." he said with a smile as he sat down beside her next to the fire.

"Thanks." she replied.

For a while, the two sat in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Nothing really needed to be said and each one was content to stare at the dancing flame, or the stars that began to form above them. Natsu wasn't sure how much time had passed before he felt Lucy lean against his shoulder. He blushed just a little as he turned his head to find that the princess had fallen asleep, resting her body against his side. Her chest was already hard to miss, but now it was pressed against his arm. Natsu wasn't one to think about such things too much, but he _was_ still a young man. To say that it did nothing for him would be a lie. He turned his head quickly in the opposite direction and cleared his throat a little. No matter how attractive she was, he really didn't know her well enough to be thinking about anything like that. In the end, he just smiled and was grateful that she seemed content with him. He didn't want to move and wake her, so he simply stared at the fire in silence, hoping that her dreams were pleasant ones.

The night seemed to slip by rather quickly. Once the light hit Lucy's eyes, she groaned a little, not wanting to wake up at all. The fire must have still been going, or the sun was peeking through the trees to hit her face, because she was so comfortable as she lay there, her whole body feeling a gentle warmth. In fact, her face was particularly warm and when she stopped trying to go back to sleep, she opened her eyes and found that she was actually resting against Natsu's chest. Lucy blushed at once and sat up quickly, looking down at the snoring fire mage. Neither of them were using their beds and it seemed she had fallen asleep on him. She covered her cheeks with her palms as she panicked silently. He just let her sleep on him like that? What was worse, was that it felt so comfortable and warm. She could only thank her lucky stars that she hadn't embraced him as she did with her pillows in her sleep at home.

With a small sigh, she was able to calm her blush as she looked down at Natsu. He certainly didn't seem to be uncomfortable on the ground like that, he really must be used to this. Lucy smiled now and looked over at the ashes of the fire. A thought occurred to her as she stared at the fire pit. He taught her how to make a fire, so maybe she could surprise him and get breakfast started before he woke up. She rose to her feet and gently brushed the dirt from her skirt before she pulled the hatchet from his bag and walked a little further into the woods to gather kindling and firewood. Lucy made sure to make a mental note of the several strange looking trees as she passed them, she didn't want to get lost when she was trying to do Natsu a favor. It would just add more work for him.

The forest seemed simple enough to navigate anyhow, but there were a couple of distractions along the way. Even if it was a lot like back home, she could have sworn a small horse with wings had just flew past her face. Lucy had finally gathered a little bunch of kindling in her arms and she was elated over her chore. Having servants do everything for you wasn't a lot of fun and she wanted to do something that might make Natsu proud of her.

"... _Lucy_..." a woman's voice rang out softly through the trees and Lucy dropped the kindling at once. She could have sworn it was her mothers voice. Her eyes went wide and she turned around quickly, but saw no one there.

"Mother?" she asked the air, hoping to hear a reply.

" _Lucy_..." her mothers voice came again.

"M-mother! Where are you?!" Lucy shouted now, turning around and frantically searching for a sign.

"... _Help me, Lucy_. _This way..._ " she whispered softly.

A breeze rushed through the trees and seemed to point Lucy in the right direction. She looked down a small pathway that the wind was pushing her towards and could swear she saw her mothers silhouette further down. Lucy didn't waste any time in darting towards it, rushing down the path so quickly that she didn't bother to look for markers to find her way back. Her mother was gone. That much she knew, but this was a world filled the magic, didn't that mean that there was a way her mother might be able to speak with her or even come back? That small hope pushed her feet forward and wouldn't let her stop until she didn't see her mother's silhouette anymore. When it was gone, Lucy looked around desperately once more.

"Mom! Say something! Where are you?!" she called out.

There was no reply, but a soft glow caught Lucy's attention from the corner of her eye. Whipping around to get a look, she saw a small pond that was glowing with a sapphire light. It was a little hypnotic actually. She didn't even realize that she was walking towards the water until she knelt down beside the pond. Lucy leaned over on her hands and knees to get a better look. The still water was eerily calming and somehow, she was sure there was a human figure near the bottom. Squinting a little, the figure came into focus slightly and she was sure it was her mother. Lucy held her breath as she gazed into the water. It was her mother, she was positive now.

" _Lucy..."_ her mothers voice came again, as her profile came into view a little more. The figure of her mother raised her arm up to reach for her daughter from beneath the water.

Without thinking, Lucy slowly reached out as well. Was her mother trapped in there? Once Lucy's fingertips touched the surface of the water, something seemed to pull Lucy down faster than she could cry out for help. There was only a small ripple on the pond before the water went still once more and there was silence in the woods again.

Back at the camp site, Natsu was barely waking from his sleep. He sat up and yawned while he stretched his arms into the air. He rubbed his eyes a little and looked around, but he didn't see Lucy anywhere and the ribbon for her hair was still laying on the ground from last night. Happy was still snoring happily, rolled up like sushi inside his sleeping bag.  
Natsu got to his feet and pat himself down a little before he looked around in silence once more. Where had Lucy run off to? Her first night camping and she just runs off on her own? He chuckled to himself a little as he imagined her all pumped up to explore.

"Lucy?" he called out towards the trees, thinking that she hadn't gone far and might be able to hear him. After a moment or two of silence however; he began to worry. Did she go too far and get lost? Was she stuck somehow? He sniffed the air now and quickly began to follow her scent. This forest was not known for it's monsters or demons, but there still might have been something in here that could hurt her. Even if it was low level, she didn't know how to fight at all. His panic started to grow once the scent pulled him further and further through the trees. Just how far had she gone?

Lucy wasn't sure where she was now. The last thing she remembered was reaching for her mother...than everything went dark. She felt as if she were floating in water, but she could breath just fine. She moved her arms and saw the bubbles form, confirming that she was submerged in some water, but if that were the case, how could she breath so easily? She decided to take a chance and speak.

"Hello?" she called out, hoping that someone would hear her. Maybe even her mother. Talking didn't seem to be a problem, so she tried to swim upwards to find the surface, but as she began to kick her legs, her mother came into view once more. She stopped and stared at Layla's image in the water. "Mom? Is that really you?" she asked, feeling happy tears start to form in her eyes.

" _Lucy...I have missed you so much..."_ her mother began, holding out her arms for her daughter.

Lucy took a small breath before she swam over and wrapped her arms around Layla. It felt so familiar in her arms. The embrace of her mother was something that she could never forget. Her mother held her gently and stroked her daughter's hair as Lucy whimpered a little.

"I-I missed you too! I thought-everyone said that you were gone. I'm so happy!" she sobbed softly as she hid her face in her mother's embrace. It was too good to be true.

" _I've been trapped here. ...I am so sorry Lucy. ...I failed you."_ her mother replied softly.

Lucy shook her head insistently, "No! You're back now! That's all that matters, " she exclaimed before pulling away and grabbing her mother's hand to tug her along, "come on! We need to find a way out of here and you can go back to Fairy Tail! Everyone will be so happy to-augh..." Lucy was halted in her words when she felt a pain in her chest and it was starting to get difficult to breath. Perhaps the water was finally getting to her?  
"C-come on!" she cried out once more, trying to shake off the pain in order to get her mother out of here.

 _"C'mon Brat! Don't be so stupid!"_ a woman's voice echoed in Lucy's mind, _"Even_ _ **you**_ _can't be this gullible!"_

Lucy wasn't sure who the voice belonged to, but somehow, it struck a chord with her. She looked back at her mother and suddenly, the gentle face that she knew as a girl began to warp a little. Giving her a small glimpse of what looked like a monsters shadow. As best as she could tell in that split second anyhow. Lucy grit her teeth, closing her eyes tight to try and focus. It hurt. Her heart was tearing up as she felt her warm tears sting her eyes. This wasn't her mother. It couldn't have been. She knew that in the back of her mind...but she wanted so badly to hope for some magical miracle. After all, what was magic for if not impossible dreams? Still...her sadness was nothing compared to the pure rage that was rising inside her heart. How dare they use her mother against her. No matter what this creature was, she wouldn't forgive something like this. The young spirit mage ripped her hand from the impostors and with a pained expression she glared at it hatefully.

"You're not my mother!" She shouted, a faint silver glow beginning to form around her body. It was no sooner that she let her voice ring out, that Lucy woke up, submerged in water once more, but this time, actually drowning. She gasped at once, accidentally letting more water in. Still, she quickly shot up and gasped for air, gripping the ground around the pond to hold herself up. She hacked and coughed up water, feeling her throat burn and her lungs strained. How long was she under?

"Oh...you managed to get out. ...how boring..." a young woman remarked, stepping forward to loom over Lucy.

Lucy looked up as she panted for breath to see a strange woman with short, bobbed brown hair. The girl had whiskers and what looked like mouse ears. Her eyes were almost completely black, as if her pupils were dilated to an extreme degree. She wore a cute brown dress with puffed up short sleeves and had a few freckles under her eyes. Noticing the long, rodent like tail, Lucy decided it was best not to move for now. She wasn't exactly sure if she could get out of the pond completely without the girl hurting her. Since it was clear from the girls comment that she was not a friend.

"...Who are you?" Lucy asked, hoping to buy a little time for herself in order to regain her breath and make a run for it.

"My name is Myszka! Nice to meet you, Lucy Heartfilia..." the girl started happily, a small squeak emitting from her voice at the end of her words, "I thought I was being nice by letting you drown in my pool of tears. ...You would have at least died happily, but now I guess I have to make it painful." Myszka finished cheerfully, reaching down at once and pushing Lucy's head back down into the water. Lucy struggled a bit and tried to get away, but the girl had a grip on her hair and she had nothing to cut it with to escape. It felt like forever that she was being held there. This was ridiculous, after all this she was just going to drown? Everything was beginning to get a little hazy and her lungs burned as the water began to slowly fill them. She was holding her breath as best she could, but it didn't help much after a while.

"LUCY!" Natsu's voice rang out as he ran up quickly and with a flaming right leg, he kicked Myszka at the side of her face before she had the time to turn and look at him. The girl squeaked in surprise as she was forced away from Lucy and kicked hard against a nearby tree.  
"LUCY!" Natsu shouted again as he quickly got down on his knees and pulled Lucy's body from the water, she was completely soaked and her face looked pale. How long had she been under water? He didn't waste any time as he lifted her chin and plugged her nose, leaning down and pressing his lips against hers to give her air. He breathed into her, hoping that he was not too late. He did this for a moment before her leaned up and began to press against her chest to start her breathing, but he didn't get that far before Lucy coughed up some water and rolled onto her side to gasp for air. Natsu smiled as relief washed over him. She was okay. He almost reached out to hug her, but heard the mouse girl begin to shout before he could.

"HOW RUDE! HOW RUDE!" Myszka shouted in a shrill squeak as she rose to her feet and wiped the blood from her mouth.

Natsu turned around and stood up straight to glare at the girl. His furious gaze was chilling and the mouse girl flinched a bit.

"Y-you can't scare me!" she insisted, pointing at the angered Dragon Slayer, "I will not forgive your rudeness!"

"What do you want with Lucy?" he asked in a low growl, upset that he had allowed her to be hurt when he was so close by.

"To kill her of course," Myszka answered, "Lord Zeref can't have a spirit mage running around. No, no. We thought we killed the last one, but she was sneaky and slipped this one by us." she finished with a sigh, as if it was so troublesome to kill the girl.

If they wanted Lucy dead, than there really wasn't anything else to talk about. Natsu launched himself from the ground and lunged for the girl with flaming fists. Lucy was barely able to hear what was going on, but she could see Natsu and the Mouse girl fighting in the clearing. She was a little weak now, but she lifted herself up by her hands and breathed deep. This girl had used her mother to lure her here to drown. She could never forgive that. She turned her head to see the pool of tears still beside her and she recalled Erza telling her that Aquarius could be summoned in water and only in water. It was probably too soon to try, but her anger pushed her forward. She pulled the key from her leather strap and stuck it in the pond.

"Gate of the Water Bearer, I open thee! Aquarius!" She shouted, catching the attention of Myszka and Natsu and causing them both to pause in their actions. Lucy's body began to glow softly and from the pool of tears, emerged a beautiful, sapphire haired mermaid holding a giant urn. Lucy was in complete awe. She really didn't think anything would come from the key, after all, she didn't think she was ready to summon anything. The mermaid's expression was a little cross to say the least, but Lucy smiled up at her brightly.

"No! NONONONO! RUDE! _SO_ RUDE!" Myszka shouted in a frantic anger before she pushed off the ground and dashed towards Lucy in a mad rush. She was quicker than Natsu thought and he didn't get the chance to catch her as she scurried quickly across the grass.

"Shut up, you annoying little shit!" Aquarius shouted angrily before she shot a large whirlpool of water at the mouse and to everyone's shock, launched the girl into the air and out of sight. All they could hear was a surprised and terrified squeak as she was tossed away. The pool of tears vanished with her and Natsu could only assume that meant she had been knocked out.

Natsu and Lucy looked at the Mermaid in stunned silence, a little nervous to say anything since she seemed quite irate. Lucy smiled nervously and stood up to greet the spirit.

"A-Aquarius?" she started cautiously. She was so excited to finally meet her, but the atmosphere was a little tense.

Aquarius turned around at once and glared at Lucy with a growl.  
"Oi! What the hell is wrong with you, brat?!" she shouted, reaching over and pulling at Lucy's hair a little, "You fell into such an obvious trap _and_ you summoned me too soon! You don't have enough energy to call someone like me! I knew you were stupid, but this is just irritating!"

Lucy was in complete shock. This wasn't exactly what she pictured when she thought about summoning Aquarius. They had been together since she was small after all and she was her mothers spirit. Her image of the gentle, loving mermaid shattered at once, but she still wanted to be friends if she could. "O-ow! Um-I'm sorry!" she tried to reply as her hair was being pulled.

Natsu had never seen a spirit before so while Aquarius was busy scolding Lucy, he was looking her over. Even going so far as to poke her tail to feel her scales. Aquarius whipped her head around at once and her explosive temper erupted, smacking Natsu hard in the face with her fin.

"GAH!" he exclaimed in pain as he placed his hand over his nose which was no doubt bleeding a little now, "What th-" he was about to shout at her, but was cut off when she released Lucy and loomed over him with a terrifying gaze. He thought only Erza could scare him with a look, but he found himself a little nervous.

"...and _you_..." Aquarius started menacingly, "You're the one that tried to summon me with _toilet water_!" she growled as she continued to pound at him with her tail.

Lucy wanted to try and make friends, but she was feeling a little more worn than before. Her legs were weak and she felt faint as she dropped to her knees on the grass. This wasn't from the drowning, it felt different. As if all her strength was just being drained.

Aquarius stopped her assault on Natsu and looked back at Lucy, "see? Your energy is nearly gone," said the mermaid as she looked down at her summoner. "You're a hundred years too early to summon me, so make sure to get stronger before trying this again. Don't summon me unless it's _important_!" Aquarius insisted before she vanished in a faint silver light.

Lucy took a deep breath and Natsu rushed over to her in order to support her shoulders with his hands. His nose was bleeding a little and he really wanted to fight Aquarius now, if for nothing else, but a little payback.  
"You okay, Lucy?" he asked, trying to focus on the matter at hand. Lucy was hurt and depleted of energy after all.

Lucy nodded her head with an exhausted smile, "Yeah..."

"Well...I guess that's Aquarius. ...Not exactly what I expected. She doesn't seem to like us at all. I thought spirits were supposed to be obedient and kind..." he muttered in annoyance. He thought the spirits would be like Layla. Kind and gentle. He couldn't really picture that mermaid shouting at Lady Layla like that.

Lucy was admittedly surprised herself and although she had been berated by the spirit, she was still happy to have met her. Besides, her voice was the same as the one she heard in the water. Aquarius may have been angry about it, but she saved her. Behind her temper, Lucy was sure that the mermaid wasn't as scary as she seemed. She held the key in her hand and smiled at it.  
"...Thank you, Aquarius." she said quietly.

Natsu was still a little miffed with the spirit, but he helped Lucy to her feet and turned around so that she could get on his back. Lucy seemed hesitant to do so, but after all of Natsu's insistence, she finally agreed to let him carry her back to camp. She was a little too weak in the knees to walk anyhow and she couldn't really deny that. As he carried her off back down the path, she took the opportunity to rest a little.

"Natsu...did you really try to summon her in toilet water?" Lucy asked finally.

The Dragon Slayer flinched and cleared his throat a little, "well yeah. When you were passed out in the medical ward...I wanted to give it a try and I was near the bathroom so..." he trailed off nervously.

Lucy giggled lightly, "you should really think before you act," she commented.

"That's no fun." Natsu replied with a grin, looking back at her over his shoulder. He was just so happy to see that Lucy was smiling again.

"...Natsu...?" Lucy started again, her smile fading after a moment, "...what is a 'pool of tears?'" she asked quietly.

"Huh? Oh, um, it's a type of dark magic. It's called that...because it lures you in with the thing that makes you sad. Like, lost loved ones..." he explained evenly, sure that she must have seen her mother in the water. The very fact that he let this happen began to gnaw at his insides. He promised to protect her smile and he just let her see something sad. If he ever found that mouse again, he would have to make sure and get a lot of payback. Still, he was determined to keep a smile on her face.  
"But hey! You summoned your first spirit!" he announced happily, "that's really impressive!"

Lucy smiled, mostly because she could tell that he was trying his best to cheer her up.  
"Yeah, I'm pretty excited to get the rest! Hopefully...they are all not as easily upset..." she added a little nervously. Natsu laughed and Lucy couldn't help but relax now. He was so cheerful and kind that it was hard to be sad around him, not to mention that he always seemed to show up just when she needed him. He saved her from Trixie, from Myszka, and even from drowning. Suddenly, Lucy was reminded of the CPR she had received when pulled from the water. In all the commotion, she didn't have any time to be embarrassed about it. Her face burned red and Lucy tried to calm herself silently as Natsu carried her through the woods. That didn't count as a kiss did it? It couldn't count, but if it did...it would be her first kiss. Natsu would be her first kiss!  
His lips were rather warm, she thought as she brought her fingers to her lips. Another rush of embarrassment ran through her and she shook her head frantically to jostle the thoughts from her mind. If Natsu was not going to bring it up, than she would just do her best to forget it. It meant nothing, right? It was just to save her, right?  
Lucy groaned at the agony of her own conflicting thoughts and rested her forehead against the back of his neck in an attempt to hide her face.

"Lucy? You okay? ...Lucy?" Natsu asked in confusion as he carried her. Unaware of the internal struggle the girl on his back was wrestling with as they made their way back to camp.

 **A/N: Okay! That's the end of this chapter and I'm pretty pleased with it. For those of you that don't know, Myszka is polish for Mouse. Though I found out that it is also Polish slang for female genitalia. _Oops_. Still, I stand by it. lol  
Also, if I'm wrong about the slang, please let me know. I would be pleased to find out that it is false information.** **I didn't get to fit in the Angst that I wanted, but I guess I will have to wait until the next chapter. See you all next time!**


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